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Tunisia, Middle East and Africa

Brik

Tunisia's favourite snack: paper-thin brik pastry folded around tuna-potato filling and a raw egg, fried crisp with a runny yolk inside.

ServingsServes 2
Total cooking time33 min
DifficultyMedium
About servingsThe yolk comes out runny. For young children, pregnant women, older people or anyone with a weakened immune system, break the yolk into the filling or fry 1 to 2 minutes longer until fully cooked. Hot oil can cause serious burns: keep children well away.

Method

  1. Peel the potato and cut it into 2 cm pieces. Cover with water in a 16 cm pot, bring to the boil on high heat, then lower to medium heat and cook for , until a fork slides in easily. Drain, set the pot back on the heat for a moment to steam off the last moisture, then mash finely with a fork.

    Add in this stepPotato 100 g

    high heat→medium heat

  2. Chop the onion and parsley very finely. Add them to the mashed potato with the well-drained tuna, capers, cheese, salt and pepper and mix. A wet filling soaks the pastry and makes it tear, so squeeze the oil out of the tuna thoroughly.

    Add in this stepCanned tuna in oil, drained 60 gOnion 30 gFlat-leaf parsley 6 gCapers 2 tspGruyère or Emmental, grated 20 gSalt 1 pinchBlack pepper 1 pinch

  3. Pour the frying oil about 1 cm deep into a 24 cm frying pan and heat on medium-high heat for to 175 °C. No thermometer? A cube of bread should turn golden in about 40 seconds. Keep water well away from the oil and never leave it unattended. Have a wide spatula and a rack lined with kitchen paper ready.

    Add in this stepOil for frying (sunflower or similar) 450 ml

    medium-high heat

  4. Assemble each brik just before frying it; made in advance, the egg soaks through the pastry. Lay one sheet on a large plate and spread one portion of filling in a ring on one half, leaving a hollow in the middle. Crack an egg into a cup, pour it gently into the hollow, fold the other half over into a half-moon and press the edges lightly with your fingers to seal.

    Add in this stepBrik pastry sheets (about 30 cm rounds; or 2 large spring roll wrappers layered) 2Eggs 2

  5. Hold the plate close to the oil and slide the brik in, away from you. Fry on medium-high heat for in total, turning once and spooning hot oil over the top, until golden on both sides. Fry one at a time, ×2. In that time the white sets while the yolk stays runny.

    medium-high heat

  6. Lift out with the spatula, let it drain on the rack for 30 seconds and serve immediately with lemon. In Tunisia you hold both ends and bite from the middle so the yolk doesn't escape.

    Add in this stepLemon (wedges) ½

Cook's tip

Brik pastry dries out fast in the air, so keep the unused sheets under a damp tea towel. With spring roll wrappers, layer two and fold the square into a triangle. For a firmer yolk, fry 1 minute longer or mix the egg into the filling.

Cooking it at camp

Heating lots of oil at a campsite is risky and messy. Use a wide pan with just 5 mm of oil over medium heat and fry each side carefully, more like pan-frying. Make the filling at home, keep it in the cooler, and use a windscreen to steady the flame.